Heavy Metal. Hard Rock. Music.

JOE SATRIANI: ‘Unstoppable Momentum’ First-Week Sales Revealed

“Unstoppable Momentum”, the 14th studio album from the incomparable guitar aficionado Joe Satriani, sold around 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 42 on The Billboard 200 chart.

Produced by Satriani and Mike Fraser (AC/DC), “Unstoppable Momentum” features an amazing array of talented players, including Vinnie Colauita (STING, JEFF BECK) on drums, Chris Chaney (JANE’S ADDICTION) on bass and on keyboards, Mike Keneally (DETHKLOK). All band members and Satriani are featured in various stages of the sessions.

In a revealing interview at the legendary Skywalker Studios, which can be seen below, Satriani discusses his inspiration behind the writing and recording of “Unstoppable Momentum”. Also included with Joe‘s interview is exclusive behind-the-scenes footage of the recording sessions and samples of tracks from the album.

After returning from the South American G3 tour last October, Satriani got down to writing new music over the next two months. As he recalls, “A very prolific and cathartic two months followed resulting in a bundle of new music I was very excited to get recorded!”

Eleven songs were selected to record, all “heading in different directions and touching on a variety of musical influences.” With that in mind, Satriani decided to assemble a new studio band. “The idea was to crank up the energy level of the sessions, and allow for more individual expression of the material from each player. The chemistry with Mike, Chris and Vinnie was fantastic and we blazed through all of the tracks with everyone laying down amazing performances.”

For two decades, Satriani has traveled the world, playing to sold-out crowds as both a headliner and as founder of the all-star “G3” guitar extravaganza. His studio and live recordings have sold more than 10 million copies worldwide to date and of his many solo albums, two have gone platinum and four others went gold, with 15 Grammy nominations between them. His side project, CHICKENFOOT, featuring former VAN HALEN frontman Sammy Hagar, former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony, and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS‘ drummer Chad Smith saw their debut album certified gold and their second studio album debuted at No. 9. In late 2010, music sensation Nicki Minaj sampled the classic Satriani track “Always With Me Always With You” in her song “Right Through Me” from her multi-platinum debut album. In 2011, Satriani recreated his national anthem performance for the opening day of the Oakland A‘s historic 2002 season in the Brad Pitt movie “Moneyball”.

“Unstoppable Momentum” track listing:

01. Unstoppable Momentum
02. Can’t Go Back
03. Lies And Truths
04. Three Sheets To The Wind
05. I’ll Put A Stone On Your Cairn
06. A Door Into Summer
07. Shine On American Dreamer
08. Jumpin’ In
09. Jumpin’ Out
10. The Weight Of The World
11. A Celebration

The “A Door Into Summer” video, conceived as a musical journey of sorts, was actually shot as Satriani and his band made their way to the legendary Skywalker Sound studio, on the famed Skywalker Ranch in the Bay Area. The clip features a behind-the-scenes look at the band arriving, setting up and starting the album recording process intercut with a collage of stills from the album cover photo shoot.